Sexual harassment shouldn't exist anywhere, "let alone in the United States Congress," and won't be tolerated as lawmakers tighten Capitol Hill's rules for addressing the problem, House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday.

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Ryan, R-Wis., spoke as leaders react to an outbreak of allegations of harassment by legislators that's become a distraction to Congress' year-end work on budget and tax issues. His comments also came hours before the House planned to approve a measure requiring lawmakers and staff to undergo mandatory, annual anti-harassment training.

Ryan told reporters that having a hostile work environment in Congress is "a disgrace," adding, "We will not tolerate that kind of behavior."

The speaker sidestepped a question on whether lawmakers should speak out more about some women's allegations that they were sexually harassed by Donald Trump before he became president.

"Right now we're focused on making sure this place works the right way," Ryan said.

He also said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., "made the right decision" by abandoning his post as top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee after facing allegations of sexual harassment by former staffers.

Trump and Conyers have denied the accusations. Conyers is facing pressure from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and members of the Congressional Black Caucus to leave Congress, including a call by Pelosi for the House Ethics Committee to "move expeditiously" to investigate harassment allegations.

Rep. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., who has said Conyers should resign, walked out of a meeting of House Democrats early Wednesday, complaining the harassment issue wasn't being taken seriously enough. She cited recent firings of media figures by their companies and said, "We don't do the same, and I think it's a disgrace."

New York Rep. Joe Crowley, a member of his party's leadership, said leaders consider the accusations against Conyers to be "very, very, very serious."

Lawmakers are considering future legislation that would strengthen Congress' lax and lengthy procedures for workers who want to lodge complaints. That includes the little-known practice in which lawmakers settle complaints with federally financed settlements for which recipients must promise to not publicly discuss the allegations.

Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., a sponsor of Wednesday's House resolution, said in a brief interview that lawmakers are considering ending taxpayer-funded settlements, giving victims of alleged harassment more rights and requiring more information about complaints to be publicly released.

The measure the House was considering Wednesday was similar to one the Senate approved for its members and staff earlier this month.

Since then, Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., the longest serving member of the House, is under fire after a news website published a report detailing a settlement with a staffer who said Conyers sexually harassed her, then fired her after she rebuffed his advances.

Other former staffers have also come forward with more claims of inappropriate behavior.

Meanwhile, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, recently apologized after a nude photo of him was leaked on social media.

Two weeks ago, a woman came forward to accuse Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., of forcibly kissing her during a USO tour in the Middle East in 2006, before he was elected to public office. Leeann Tweeden also released a photograph in which Franken appears to be groping her breasts while she sleeps. Two other women have since accused Franken of fondling their buttocks while posing for photographs.

Franken has apologized and said he welcomes a Senate Ethics investigation.

Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., another co-sponsor of the measure the House was considering Wednesday, said at a recent House hearing that two current members, one Democrat and one Republican, have also engaged in sexual harassment. Speier declined to name the members, citing non-disclosure agreements as well as the wishes of the victims not to identify their harassers.